Why F1's new engine rules are in trouble

Plans for simpler, cheaper and noisier Formula 1 engines were rumbling along nicely over the first half of 2018 but, just before the final whistle of a Strategy Group sign-off, a manufacturer-led problem has held things up

The months of meetings and endless discussions that have gone into shaping new Formula 1 power unit regulations for 2021 have led to an impasse. That's the scenario currently unfolding after current manufacturers put a spanner in the FIA and Liberty works last week.

They appeared to have gone along with plans for what Ross Brawn termed a "simpler, cheaper and noisier" power unit, and reluctantly accepted the loss of the MGU-H. Last week's F1 Strategy Group meeting was actually supposed to be one of the final exercises in box ticking, prior to the final signing off of the new rules.